Empire!7 - Into the Depths: Out-of-Character Thread (CWBG)

[Kythia]

Pre-emptively putting this here just because I succeeded on the colonisation and have a bit of time right now. If someone does something to negate my colonisation then ignore this, and I'll add in the Desired Import once it's announced.

Region 156
Hot Vents

Spoiler: Geography

Show

This area, new to the Magaramachi, is already well known to the Abyssal Stewards due to the numerous thermal vents that dot the sea floor, making the already warm waters even warmer.
Each has a thriving ecosystem of microfauna around it with the stationary nature of these creatures meaning that each vent has unique species not found elsewhere, making the place a goldmine for biologsts or geneticists. Also gold miners. A rich seam of gold lies exposed in the north west corner of the land, essentially useless to the undersea races but shiny enough to be attractive.

Spoiler: People

Show

Hot Vents was colonised by the Magaramachi and their name reflects the uncomplicated naming schema of these people. A combination of the Abyssal Stewards and the help received from the Shifting Ennead in colonising the region has led to those Magaramachi who are the most committed to the Eternal Communion or otherwise mystically minded being the ones most likely to set up a new life here. The numerically few colonists take up an out-of-proportion amount of space as each lays claim to a wide area to focus more on eating the native flora and fauna than one another.

When they do choose to meet for mating or fighting, Hottest Vent is the place they do so and something of a de facto holy site. It's not actually the hottest vent in the region, coming in at seventh according to the Abyssal Stewards but it was the hottest vent the Magaramachi had found at the time it got its name and they weren't about to go round learning a different name or anything.

Relations are strained to the point of non-existence between the Hot Vents colonists and those Magaramchi which remained in the salination. The physical leadership style of the Magaramchi fades quickly with distance and the Hot Vents colonsts consider themselves a seperate nation. The Salination and whoever lays claim to it at the moment, predictably, doesn't.

Spoiler: Resources

Show

Whichever long past civilisation created the tablets so beloved of th Bloodripper Lands had a presence here and had clearly domesticated the filter feeding sharks of the area that swarm around the rich vent ecosystems. That taming had been carried in their genes and the Abyssal Stewards who came here to study the vents found it easy enough to re-instill.

Twice Tamed Sharks are adorable, friendly creatures who joyfully come up and nuzzle anyone nearby and eagerly splash around in play if engaged with. They're filter feeders without an aggresive bone in their body and are, by shark standards, relatively intelligent and can be trained to recognise their name and come when called.

Also, the whimpering noise they make if they're still alive when you start eating them is absolutely hilarious.

DI Write Up

[farothel]

Update on the resources in region 192 for review:

Spoiler: Resources

Show

The hydrothermal vents spew forth mineral rich water. The flow of water and the specifics of the meeting of cold and hot water condense some of these metals in small stones of magnetic metal, which look a bit like flowers. Where the flows of the water calm down, these flowerstones are deposited and are collected.

With the location of the basic military training facility in this region, there is a great need for armour to equip all the new recruits who get their basic training in the region (and to demonstrate how to bypass armour).

[Torv]

I've had a wacky idea for a CI: Breaking the mold
2d8 for actions not described in the ruleset, when taken as Secret Actions.

Don't know if it's too broad or painting too far outside the lines?

[Gengy]

Seguranca
(Region 170)

Spoiler: People

Show

Those of Seguranca consist primarily of Mer, but there is a small colony of Pygmy Mer. These are like Mer in all ways, except half the size, typically coming in at just three bubbles tall compared to a regular Mer’s six. Pygmy Mer are clever and quick, and all share the same trait of white scales on their tails, and their hair color is often bright colors.

Spoiler: Geography

Show

The waters of Seguranca are a mix of open spaces and large coral reefs. Mer tend to live within the coral reefs, where there is plenty of fish and shrimp for food. The Pygmy Mer colony – known as Imenzo Angra – is a large mountain, with an even larger cave system. Some of the cave holes are too small for regular Mer to swim through, but barely bother the Pygmy body size.

Spoiler: Resource

Show

Export: Sea Silk. (Textile, Clothing, Luxury Good) The Pygmy Mer colony has raised ‘Sea Spiders’ as pets. These eight legged creatures are small and easy to miss if not looking for them, but given a dark environment and plenty of food, can create entire webs that can be gathered and spun into what those of Seguranca call ‘Sea Silk’. Combined with Pygmy Mer hair, this Sea Silk can be weaved into a variety of colors, making it a wonderful textile and perfect for clothing… and it’s valuable rarity makes it very desirable by merchants and nobles alike.

Required Resource:The Mer of Seguranca, both of the typical and Pygmy variety, have a fascination for Megafauna. How something can grow so large amuses and delights them, and while Seguranca does not have the ability to grow such huge plant life itself, the stories of it growing elsewhere are enough to cause the people of Seguranca to become rather demanding that they receive a sample on a frequent basis.

Spoiler: Faith

Show

[Rabid Xenophilia] Seguranca does not have a faith per se, but rather a cultural calling: Make very nice with any visitors. This mindset was originally created back when Seguranca found itself, centuries ago, on a population decline after a random sickness washed over the waters. At that point, the Mer took anyone and everyone in and… well, a population boom occurred. And so did the Pygmy Mer. While this ‘calling’ doesn’t appeal to everyone in Seguranca anymore, those that do respond to the call are rather… fervent about it.

Holy Site: “Shadow Garden” – A long standing temple that has since been turned into a giant garden of small plants, with lots of shade. What goes on in Shadow Garden remains unseen, as though they have nothing to hide, the tradition is that no one speaks of whatever they’ve encountered.

Holy Site: "Pygmy Cove" – History states that there was once a single small Mer, but that this man was a skilled lover, and not everything about him was small. He became quite popular, so the story goes, when the population decline happened, and his legacy lives on in his many, many, children.

---

Extenso Azul
(Region 140)

Spoiler: People

Show

Those of Extenso Azul are hardy folk. They like their sea fowl eggs boiled, their buildings to have purpose rather than be aesthetically pleasing, and by their very nature, abhor gossip. By and large made up of Mer, there are a few scattered Nuven of Gotezhar that have called these waters home for more years than have been recorded. Their system of rule is led by a Council of Reprehensibles; a selection of people who started out as a grouping of the worst, most self-centered folk in the region. The Council Leader would put forth a question of how to handle a situation, and based on the Reprehensibles answer, the people of Extenso Azul would do the exact opposite. These days, while the name for the Council is traditional, the actions of a Council Member have been curtailed: any Council Member found to be making decisions that are solely self-serving is put to death. This makes a Council position a less desirable post, except for that that truly want to help their people. Even the Council Leader position changes every new moon, so none can remain in power for too long. It is a confusing, if effective, style of governance.

Spoiler: Geography

Show

Great big mesas dot the borders of the land under the seas of Extenso Azul... But the majority of the region is one great plains, that extends for miles and miles. Locals call this the Big Blue. While most of the Mer lives within the mesas along the borders, a few roaming nomads follow the Sea Fowl that wander the Big Blue, following a peculiar fauna. Sea Fowl are individually harmless, and not prone to violence, but as they can lay large quantities of eggs that can make more and more of the two-bubble tall beasts, the nomadic Mer are essential to making sure that the Sea Fowl population remains curtailed. It helps that the Sea Fowl eggs are delicious, especially when scoured.

Gotezhar Nuven lives in sporadic locations throughout Extenso Azul, and are generally welcoming of visitors, but share the same cultural ferocity when anyone threatens their ancestral clouds.

Spoiler: Resource

Show

Export: Scouring Serum. (Fertilizer, Light Source, Bioluminescence) The Sea Fowl of the region are useful for their eggs, and the eggs are useful for the food they make… but it is what the Sea Fowl eat that is truly wonderful. The Scouring Jellyfish emits a strange blue light all over it’s body, and can be captured – and properly fed – to make light in even the darkest of waters, but training them to stay in play is an effort in idiocy. However, it’s their Scouring Serum that is powerfully fascinating. When provoked, the Jellyfish spits out a single line of deep blue ink that rapidly lights up the water around it, making it uncomfortably bright in the area, and even more uncomfortable on bare skin (causing itching), but when it comes into contact with plant life, this jellyfish poop is greedily consumed by the local flora as nutrients. The Sea Fowl are unaffected by the itching, making them natural predators… and a hint of how to properly gather the Scouring Serum. Mer bedecked in gloves lined with Sea Fowl feathers can quickly gather the Scouring Serum into an empty Sea Fowl eggshell, saving its light and useful farming properties for later.

Required Resource: Spices. Sea Fowl eggs are tasty, but as they make up the majority of Extenso Azul’s food source, things can get a little repetitive. Having new and interesting flavors, via spices, to add to one’s daily egg is a desire held by many!

Spoiler: Faith

Show

Two competing faiths exist in balance within the Extenso Azul: New Anastasis and The Old Currents. The former believes in the death and rebirth of the soul with every new and favorable action one takes on behalf of another worthy soul, while the latter does not believe in such balance in the now but rather upholds various traditions and ancestral worship. The Old Currents is far more popular with (Holy Site) The Nomads, while New Anastasis is a long held cultural understanding of those whom live along the (Holy Site) Regional Borders.

---

Apologies for the delay. IRL good things are happening, but cause less time for me here. Anyways, two new regions for review!

[Aerin]

First, the name is a specific nod to a fluff piece written this turn between me and a faith member, and makes much more sense within the context of that. If it's a sticking point I can change it, but I'd probably want it to be a less generic sounding name.

Second, I may need to figure out a better way to convey this idea, I concede I might be unclear. But the general idea is to build machines that can both fight, and build more machines, allowing for high efficiency in the process. And, further, to use the materials of the machines to help even the mundane creatures (which even Mawbel makes use of, through mercenaries) to survive and even thrive within the Toxic Environments. Can be as large as a Beacon Truck, can be as small as a Paperclip in the hand of a general. All of which resonating with and transmitting to the filter devices on the bodies of all the soldiers to imbue the filter devices with power and help them survive the short term toxic environments they need to to get through the areas.

(I'm still workshopping the fluff, but I absolutely want some justification to use my construction constructs in battle. I dig the general idea of the one-use plastic filter devices though and that helps me guide the fluff some, though see below.)

Also, especially for Mawbel, the Axiom Of Industry, she builds things to last. If something made of plastic breaks down, smelt it down, build it into a new one. Or use it as fodder for some large construct. Or use it as some kind of barricade. She is unceasing perseverance. Even if it takes a thousand years, even if she has to swim ten million miles, even if she has to endure an endless rolling neural collapse, she will devour this existence and win in the end.





Honestly, I personally feel like the term is more fitting because it's now potentially literal. "Surface breaker" seems like it's only a term we would as humans apply to it because we see the water as below the surface, but to people within the Waters Of The World, everything above the surface of the water is frankly probably as high up in consideration as the Ozone Layer is to us. I kinda do like the term Surfacebreaker though, it is a viable alternative. I can go either, depends what other people think more than me, this is a minor detail.



Sure, it's there in spirit, and just noted here, there'll be no need to include it in the version I post in my next turn orders.

The fluff makes much more sense to me now, thanks! Maybe include some of that explanation in the description?

Well, as it is underwater crop, I figured it couldn't exactly be roasted. The description might have been a bit vague, I was just going for spices/drugs angle here, and failed to take into account crop could give different impression.

I'm fine with counting it as a drug. If you want it to also count as a spice, you're going to need some sort of justification for how it doesn't act like a drug when it's being used as a spice. Does that make sense?

Pre-emptively putting this here just because I succeeded on the colonisation and have a bit of time right now. If someone does something to negate my colonisation then ignore this, and I'll add in the Desired Import once it's announced.

Region 156
Hot Vents

Spoiler: Geography

Show

This area, new to the Magaramachi, is already well known to the Abyssal Stewards due to the numerous thermal vents that dot the sea floor, making the already warm waters even warmer.
Each has a thriving ecosystem of microfauna around it with the stationary nature of these creatures meaning that each vent has unique species not found elsewhere, making the place a goldmine for biologsts or geneticists. Also gold miners. A rich seam of gold lies exposed in the north west corner of the land, essentially useless to the undersea races but shiny enough to be attractive.

Spoiler: People

Show

Hot Vents was colonised by the Magaramachi and their name reflects the uncomplicated naming schema of these people. A combination of the Abyssal Stewards and the help received from the Shifting Ennead in colonising the region has led to those Magaramachi who are the most committed to the Eternal Communion or otherwise mystically minded being the ones most likely to set up a new life here. The numerically few colonists take up an out-of-proportion amount of space as each lays claim to a wide area to focus more on eating the native flora and fauna than one another.

When they do choose to meet for mating or fighting, Hottest Vent is the place they do so and something of a de facto holy site. It's not actually the hottest vent in the region, coming in at seventh according to the Abyssal Stewards but it was the hottest vent the Magaramachi had found at the time it got its name and they weren't about to go round learning a different name or anything.

Relations are strained to the point of non-existence between the Hot Vents colonists and those Magaramchi which remained in the salination. The physical leadership style of the Magaramchi fades quickly with distance and the Hot Vents colonsts consider themselves a seperate nation. The Salination and whoever lays claim to it at the moment, predictably, doesn't.

Spoiler: Resources

Show

Whichever long past civilisation created the tablets so beloved of th Bloodripper Lands had a presence here and had clearly domesticated the filter feeding sharks of the area that swarm around the rich vent ecosystems. That taming had been carried in their genes and the Abyssal Stewards who came here to study the vents found it easy enough to re-instill.

Twice Tamed Sharks are adorable, friendly creatures who joyfully come up and nuzzle anyone nearby and eagerly splash around in play if engaged with. They're filter feeders without an aggresive bone in their body and are, by shark standards, relatively intelligent and can be trained to recognise their name and come when called.

Also, the whimpering noise they make if they're still alive when you start eating them is absolutely hilarious.

DI Write Up

This looks great! My only suggestion is to rename the "People" header to something like "People and Faith" so that folks searching for the Holy Site description know where to find it.
Off-topic: I know Economy Special 5's are in short supply, but consider: Thrice-Tamed Sharks. Think about it. What would Magaramachi taming even look like?

Update on the resources in region 192 for review:

Spoiler: Resources

Show

The hydrothermal vents spew forth mineral rich water. The flow of water and the specifics of the meeting of cold and hot water condense some of these metals in small stones of magnetic metal, which look a bit like flowers. Where the flows of the water calm down, these flowerstones are deposited and are collected.

With the location of the basic military training facility in this region, there is a great need for armour to equip all the new recruits who get their basic training in the region (and to demonstrate how to bypass armour).

Fantastic! Flowerstones sound cute. I want one.

I've had a wacky idea for a CI: Breaking the mold
2d8 for actions not described in the ruleset, when taken as Secret Actions.

Don't know if it's too broad or painting too far outside the lines?

I'd approve that. It makes slightly more work for me, but I like the way it encourages creativity.

Seguranca
(Region 170)

Spoiler: People

Show

Those of Seguranca consist primarily of Mer, but there is a small colony of Pygmy Mer. These are like Mer in all ways, except half the size, typically coming in at just three bubbles tall compared to a regular Mer’s six. Pygmy Mer are clever and quick, and all share the same trait of white scales on their tails, and their hair color is often bright colors.

Spoiler: Geography

Show

The waters of Seguranca are a mix of open spaces and large coral reefs. Mer tend to live within the coral reefs, where there is plenty of fish and shrimp for food. The Pygmy Mer colony – known as Imenzo Angra – is a large mountain, with an even larger cave system. Some of the cave holes are too small for regular Mer to swim through, but barely bother the Pygmy body size.

Spoiler: Resource

Show

Export: Sea Silk. (Textile, Clothing, Esoterica) The Pygmy Mer colony has raised ‘Sea Spiders’ as pets. These eight legged creatures are small and easy to miss if not looking for them, but given a dark environment and plenty of food, can create entire webs that can be gathered and spun into what those of Seguranca call ‘Sea Silk’. Combined with Pygmy Mer hair, this Sea Silk can be weaved into a variety of colors, making it a wonderful textile and perfect for clothing… and it’s valuable rarity makes it very desirable by merchants and nobles alike.

Required Resource:The Mer of Seguranca, both of the typical and Pygmy variety, have a fascination for Megafauna. How something can grow so large amuses and delights them, and while Seguranca does not have the ability to grow such huge plant life itself, the stories of it growing elsewhere are enough to cause the people of Seguranca to become rather demanding that they receive a sample on a frequent basis.

Spoiler: Faith

Show

[Rabid Xenophilia] Seguranca does not have a faith per se, but rather a cultural calling: Make very nice with any visitors. This mindset was originally created back when Seguranca found itself, centuries ago, on a population decline after a random sickness washed over the waters. At that point, the Mer took anyone and everyone in and… well, a population boom occurred. And so did the Pygmy Mer. While this ‘calling’ doesn’t appeal to everyone in Seguranca anymore, those that do respond to the call are rather… fervent about it.

Holy Site: “Shadow Garden” – A long standing temple that has since been turned into a giant garden of small plants, with lots of shade. What goes on in Shadow Garden remains unseen, as though they have nothing to hide, the tradition is that no one speaks of whatever they’ve encountered.

Holy Site: "Pygmy Cove" – History states that there was once a single small Mer, but that this man was a skilled lover, and not everything about him was small. He became quite popular, so the story goes, when the population decline happened, and his legacy lives on in his many, many, children.

---

Extenso Azul
(Region 140)

Spoiler: People

Show

Those of Extenso Azul are hardy folk. They like their sea fowl eggs scoured, their buildings to have purpose rather than be aesthetically pleasing, and by their very nature, abhor gossip. By and large made up of Mer, there are a few scattered Nuven of Gotezhar that have called these waters home for more years than have been recorded. Their system of rule is led by a Council of Reprehensibles; a selection of people who started out as a grouping of the worst, most self-centered folk in the region. The Council Leader would put forth a question of how to handle a situation, and based on the Reprehensibles answer, the people of Extenso Azul would do the exact opposite. These days, while the name for the Council is traditional, the actions of a Council Member have been curtailed: any Council Member found to be making decisions that are solely self-serving is put to death. This makes a Council position a less desirable post, except for that that truly want to help their people. Even the Council Leader position changes every new moon, so none can remain in power for too long. It is a confusing, if effective, style of governance.

Spoiler: Geography

Show

Great big mesas dot the borders of the land under the seas of Extenso Azul... But the majority of the region is one great plains, that extends for miles and miles. Locals call this the Big Blue. While most of the Mer lives within the mesas along the borders, a few roaming nomads follow the Sea Fowl that wander the Big Blue, following a peculiar fauna. Sea Fowl are individually harmless, and not prone to violence, but as they can lay large quantities of eggs that can make more and more of the two-bubble tall beasts, the nomadic Mer are essential to making sure that the Sea Fowl population remains curtailed. It helps that the Sea Fowl eggs are delicious, especially when scoured.

Gotezhar Nuven lives in sporadic locations throughout Extenso Azul, and are generally welcoming of visitors, but share the same cultural ferocity when anyone threatens their ancestral clouds.

Spoiler: Resource

Show

Export: Scouring Serum. (Heat Source, Light Source, Bioluminescence) The Sea Fowl of the region are useful for their eggs, and the eggs are useful for the food they make… but it is what the Sea Fowl eat that is truly wonderful. The Scouring Jellyfish emits a strange blue light all over it’s body, and can be captured – and properly fed – to make light in even the darkest of waters. However, it’s their Scouring Serum that is powerfully fascinating. When provoked, the Jellyfish spits out a single line of deep blue ink that rapidly heats up the water around it, making it uncomfortably warm in the area, and unbearably so if coming into contact with unprotected skin. However, the Sea Fowl are unaffected, making them natural predators… and a hint of how to properly gather the Scouring Serum. Mer bedecked in Sea Fowl feathers can quickly gather the Scouring Serum into an empty Sea Fowl eggshell, saving its heat and light for later.

Required Resource: Spices. Sea Fowl eggs are tasty, but as they make up the majority of Extenso Azul’s food source, things can get a little repetitive. Having new and interesting flavors, via spices, to add to one’s daily egg is a desire held by many!

Spoiler: Faith

Show

Two competing faiths exist in balance within the Extenso Azul: New Anastasis and The Old Currents. The former believes in the death and rebirth of the soul with every new and favorable action one takes on behalf of another worthy soul, while the latter does not believe in such balance in the now but rather upholds various traditions and ancestral worship. The Old Currents is far more popular with (Holy Site) The Nomads, while New Anastasis is a long held cultural understanding of those whom live along the (Holy Site) Regional Borders.

---

Apologies for the delay. IRL good things are happening, but cause less time for me here. Anyways, two new regions for review!

Happy to hear IRL good things are happening!

Seguranca: I'd buy Textiles and Clothing for Sea Silk, but not Esoterica. Otherwise, no problems, not even pygmy ones! Please add it to the Waters of the World.

Extenso Azul: Looks great, except for a couple issues with the Scouring Serum.
- We already have an abundance of glowing/heated squishy organisms: tunicates (Region 117), octopuses (Region 148) and squids (Region 100, Region 74). If you're really in love with the idea of the jellyfish, I won't stop you. But the abundance of this particular type of resource has me slightly concerned.
- "Scouring" implies an abrasive or detergent, not heat. I'd aim for more of a dye/toxin angle. Maaaaybe fertilizer as well. This is a suggestion, not a requirement.
- The Serum is the export, not the jellyfish. If you want a Light Source and Bioluminescence, you'll need to specify that the Serum itself glows.
- How do feathers protect the Mer collecting the super hot liquid?

On the positive side - I really enjoyed the interaction between the Sea Fowl and the Scouring Jellyfish. I think this is a really creative idea! Just perhaps better suited to Scaldsquid (Region 100).

[Grim ranger]

I'm fine with counting it as a drug. If you want it to also count as a spice, you're going to need some sort of justification for how it doesn't act like a drug when it's being used as a spice. Does that make sense?

It does. At first I thought about whole burned/ground up difference, but fire would probably be bit of a problem under the sea. I am fine with just counting it as a spice.

[Aerin]

It does. At first I thought about whole burned/ground up difference, but fire would probably be bit of a problem under the sea. I am fine with just counting it as a spice.

Sounds good to me. Feel free to alter the Resources section to just count it as a spice, then add it to the Waters of the World.

[JBarca]

ECO Tech proposal below.

Ennean Professionalization

A government which sees its influence extending faster than its levies can swim will swiftly drown. To combat this, the expectations of the local governments are changed. Rather than promising warbands in a time of war, every member of the aristocracy is legally required to provide armaments, supplies, or soldiers to the central government directly, that a standing floating army can be maintained at all times. This steady influx of permanent troops and equipment also serves to quickly and efficiently replace losses sustained in a time of crisis. Warriors are recruited from across the state's zone of control and made into career soldiers, paid and, perhaps more importantly, fed directly by the central seat of power. More complex international political realities demand simpler centralized militaries.

Prerequisites: Trophic Deconvolution
Effects: For every 8 Aristocratic Supports controlled by a state, they gain one Unit at the start of each round.

[Aerin]

ECO Tech proposal below.

Ennean Professionalization

A government which sees its influence extending faster than its levies can swim will swiftly drown. To combat this, the expectations of the local governments are changed. Rather than promising warbands in a time of war, every member of the aristocracy is legally required to provide armaments, supplies, or soldiers to the central government directly, that a standing floating army can be maintained at all times. This steady influx of permanent troops and equipment also serves to quickly and efficiently replace losses sustained in a time of crisis. Warriors are recruited from across the state's zone of control and made into career soldiers, paid and, perhaps more importantly, fed directly by the central seat of power. More complex international political realities demand simpler centralized militaries.

Prerequisites: Supernatic Propagation
Effects: For every 8 Aristocratic Supports controlled by a state, they gain one Unit per round.

Love the fluff! I'd just request two small changes:
1. Specify that you gain the units at the start of the round. This is different from passive treasure gain, which is at the end of a round, but much easier for me to track and handle.
2. Change the prerequisite technology to Trophic Deconvolution.

[Grim ranger]

Region 53 writeup has been posted in the Waters of the World proper.

Also, here is writeup for the new miltech I am hoping to make.

Toxologist training

For a long time, the legions of Kar-Nath Hegemony have been a straightforward army, their shield-walls and lightning assaults being competent and predictable... but the utterly phyrric victory at Plains of Sarkenos taught the rulers of Frozen Seas much. While it has taken a long while, the Plains of Sarkenos has yielded a whole new class of fighters for Hegemony to utilize in their wars: the Toxologists. Equipped with lethal toxins brewed in hidden laboratories across the land, these specialists work as terrifying advance force of Hegemony's armies, setting lethal ambushes and controlling the battlefield with their devastating arsenal.

Prerequisites: Toxins, Graduated Symbiosis, Composite Grafting
Military slot: Scouts & Subterfuge
Effect: +10% enemy casualties and +1 to Battle rolls in Depth 0 regions

[Gengy]

Seguranca: I'd buy Textiles and Clothing for Sea Silk, but not Esoterica. Otherwise, no problems, not even pygmy ones! Please add it to the Waters of the World.

Extenso Azul: Looks great, except for a couple issues with the Scouring Serum.
- We already have an abundance of glowing/heated squishy organisms: tunicates (Region 117), octopuses (Region 148) and squids (Region 100, Region 74). If you're really in love with the idea of the jellyfish, I won't stop you. But the abundance of this particular type of resource has me slightly concerned.
- "Scouring" implies an abrasive or detergent, not heat. I'd aim for more of a dye/toxin angle. Maaaaybe fertilizer as well. This is a suggestion, not a requirement.
- The Serum is the export, not the jellyfish. If you want a Light Source and Bioluminescence, you'll need to specify that the Serum itself glows.
- How do feathers protect the Mer collecting the super hot liquid?

On the positive side - I really enjoyed the interaction between the Sea Fowl and the Scouring Jellyfish. I think this is a really creative idea! Just perhaps better suited to Scaldsquid (Region 100).

Seguranca: Would you accept 'Luxury Good' as a third definition? Silk - any kind of silk - is often seen as a desirable product, even if it is mostly a textile or clothing. That's what I was going after by calling it Esoterica, but Luxury Good would also work, I suppose, if that's fine. If not, then just those two works.

Extenso Azul:
- The Jellyfish are something I would like to have to explain how the Serum is created, but yes, they themselves are not the export.
- I'd be fine with Light Source / Fertilizer / Bioluminescence; the Serum is basically jellyfish poop, so that makes sense to me
- Well, since we've just decided it's not hot, this doesn't matter, but my line of logic was: "Creature make hot thing. Creature have natural predator. Natural predator does not care about when creature makes hot thing. Use natural predator feathers as product to allow others to not care about that specific hot thing."

[Gengy]

Forgive the double post... new topic, though!

-----------------
Tactical Doctrine Discussion: "Numerous as Rain"
-----------------

Effect: Outnumbering begins at 25% or more. For every further 25% more units the larger army possess over the smaller army, they get an additional +1. This replaces, and is NOT in addition to, the normal 50% bonus.

[Example: This turns a 3:1 advantage from +5 to +9]
[Note: I would (a) have to win the Tactical Maneuvering roll and (b) Outnumber the enemy, so feel like this is still fair compared to a flat +2 bonus. Against other players, there are options to negate this though sending more units.]

[Aerin]

Region 53 writeup has been posted in the Waters of the World proper.

Also, here is writeup for the new miltech I am hoping to make.

Toxologist training

For a long time, the legions of Kar-Nath Hegemony have been a straightforward army, their shield-walls and lightning assaults being competent and predictable... but the utterly phyrric victory at Plains of Sarkenos taught the rulers of Frozen Seas much. While it has taken a long while, the Plains of Sarkenos has yielded a whole new class of fighters for Hegemony to utilize in their wars: the Toxologists. Equipped with lethal toxins brewed in hidden laboratories across the land, these specialists work as terrifying advance force of Hegemony's armies, setting lethal ambushes and controlling the battlefield with their devastating arsenal.

Prerequisites: Toxins, Graduated Symbiosis, Composite Grafting
Military slot: Scouts & Subterfuge
Effect: +10% enemy casualties and +1 to Battle rolls in Depth 0 regions

Terrifying! Approved.

Seguranca: Would you accept 'Luxury Good' as a third definition? Silk - any kind of silk - is often seen as a desirable product, even if it is mostly a textile or clothing. That's what I was going after by calling it Esoterica, but Luxury Good would also work, I suppose, if that's fine. If not, then just those two works.

Extenso Azul:
- The Jellyfish are something I would like to have to explain how the Serum is created, but yes, they themselves are not the export.
- I'd be fine with Light Source / Fertilizer / Bioluminescence; the Serum is basically jellyfish poop, so that makes sense to me
- Well, since we've just decided it's not hot, this doesn't matter, but my line of logic was: "Creature make hot thing. Creature have natural predator. Natural predator does not care about when creature makes hot thing. Use natural predator feathers as product to allow others to not care about that specific hot thing."

Yes, I'd definitely count that as a Luxury. Thanks for asking!
Light Source / Fertilizer / Bioluminescence for Jellyfish poop makes sense to me. Can you alter the resource description to make it clear that it's not hot, and perhaps elaborate on the fertilizing properties?

Forgive the double post... new topic, though!

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Tactical Doctrine Discussion: "Numerous as Rain"
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Effect: Outnumbering begins at 25% or more. For every further 25% more units the larger army possess over the smaller army, they get an additional +1. This replaces, and is NOT in addition to, the normal 50% bonus.

[Example: This turns a 3:1 advantage from +5 to +9]
[Note: I would (a) have to win the Tactical Maneuvering roll and (b) Outnumber the enemy, so feel like this is still fair compared to a flat +2 bonus. Against other players, there are options to negate this though sending more units.]

No. I am unwilling to fundamentally alter the underlying math behind combat. There is precedent for tacdocs with conditions like "If outnumbering ...". If you want to make something that ties into outnumbering, I would recommend doing something similar to that.

[JBarca]

Love the fluff! I'd just request two small changes:
1. Specify that you gain the units at the start of the round. This is different from passive treasure gain, which is at the end of a round, but much easier for me to track and handle.
2. Change the prerequisite technology to Trophic Deconvolution.

1. Sure thing
2. Definitely what I meant to copy/paste. Thanks for catching that!

[Corona]

Submitting a region writeup:

Region 12 - Wid Oe'masoar

Spoiler: Geography

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The seafloor is rather uneven, with terraces, cliffs and caverns a frequent sight due to the crystal eating into the soft soil occasionally. Thankfully, it does not eat all minerals. To the north, its expansion is inhibited by the White Mountains, composed of granite with massive quartz veins and not an inch of soil. In the south, the crystal cannot cross the endless deserts stripped bare by frequent natural disasters.

However, the crystal's path westward is clear. It could potentially grow into and devour all of tropics, which is almost what happened at one point in the past, as told by the oral myths of the people of Wid Oe'masoar. The stories differ on many details; they agree on this: when the precarious situation became apparent, and six kings from surrounding regions gathered to discuss how to stop the deadly crystal flood, an orphan prayed for the intervention of the gods more earnestly than anyone in history, offering his life in return. His prayers were heard out, and his body was transformed into Orphan's Mound, a strange lone hill in the west of the region. It is the only place or material that seems to actively repel the crystal. Chemical analysis of the rock has so far yielded no results that would explain the phenomenon.

Spoiler: People

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The Mer that inhabit this region have gray fur. Despite living in a tropical region, they wear thick, fluffy workclothes that protects against the corrosive crystals. If the crystals start eating into the clothing, you discard it and swim away. In the past, the locals used to organize into migratory tribes that lived on the fringes of the region or in neighboring regions for most of the year and only during a short season they ventured into the crystal-infected heart of the region to stock up on crystal to trade and the fruits and vegetables growing between the crystal lodes that are left uneaten by animals. Now, technology and modern safety procedures have enabled the specialization of labor. Crystal factory workers live in specially insulated towns amongst the crystal lodes, obviating the need for migration. Tribes have been reorganized into urban and rural counties, all ruled by a by a governor appointed from the Tairlav palace.

Spoiler: Resource

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(credit: Tychris)
Crystal Chips are an invasive and potentially ecologically devastating naturally occuring substance. A strangely mutated form of Aragonite crystal that grows in the region, it seemingly multiplies itself over and over again, and consumes all that unfortunately cannot get out of its way. Similar in nature to Kudzu this crystalline aberration is a goldmine for harvesting resources so long as you can move your cultivating operation out of the way and / or don't care about the safety or livelihood of your miners. This substance is sometimes thought to be sentient by those locals who have observed it over time, as it waxes or wanes and continues its inexorable tide onwards, and yet scholars vehemently disagree after researching it and instead ascribe the locals to simply anthropomorphizing a powerful force of nature that they can curb but not completely erase. Its name derives from the way that it grows, for the substance when not harvested is noticeably brittle, and can easily chip off fresh pieces which when left unattended will spread the Crystals even further. Careful processing after harvesting is required from these crystals or else the processing plant will become overrun by the very substance it wishes to reap benefit from.

Desired Import: Parasite Hosts
Although the crystal can consume almost anything, if it is fed a special diet, it has slightly different properties. In particular, if it eats the flesh of living beings, it is sharper and harder. In the past, even sentient beings - slaves were sacrificed to the crystal. Of course, this tradition is illegal now, but the region still needs to import masses of livestock to produce high-quality material and satisfy believers who practice sacrifice for religious reasons.

Spoiler: Faith

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The Prismatic Schismatics are united in the belief in the crystal's divine nature and of the existence of gods currently ruling the world that oppose the crystal's expansion, lest it could take over as the ruler of the waters and heavens of this world. However, they disagree among themselves on nearly everything else, including the fact of whether the crystal is benevolent or malevolent.

HC1: Orphan's Mound
The hill, a key piece in containing the crystal, is considered to be a holy place by the locals. They keep the seagrass growing on it neat and they restore the hill's round shape when a landslide occurs.

HC2: Cordial Lode
The Cordial Lode is the biggest contiguous area infested by the crystal, wide enough that its center remains hidden from the outside even during lowest crystaltide. The crystal here takes on a darker color and resists the usual treatment to make it safe to handle. It is where the crystal's consciousness is thought to reside... among the Prismatic Schismatics who think the crystal has a central location, rather than having its presence distributed evenly.

HC3: Pleasure Hall
The Hedonistic Cynicists, a sect looked on with suspicion, spend as much of their free time here in a mansion of luxury. They do not care about the crystal or much else in the world, believing that one's time is wasted by doing anything else than enjoying oneself to the fullest, and they have constructed the Pleasure Hall to serve this purpose. All spare income of believers is donated to the Hall, to allow it to serve food and provide entertainment suitable for royalty.

[Kythia]

Final write up - requested changes in title + DI write up

Region 156
Hot Vents

Spoiler: Geography

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This area, new to the Magaramachi, is already well known to the Abyssal Stewards due to the numerous thermal vents that dot the sea floor, making the already warm waters even warmer.
Each has a thriving ecosystem of microfauna around it with the stationary nature of these creatures meaning that each vent has unique species not found elsewhere, making the place a goldmine for biologsts or geneticists. Also gold miners. A rich seam of gold lies exposed in the north west corner of the land, essentially useless to the undersea races but shiny enough to be attractive.

Spoiler: People and Faith

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Hot Vents was colonised by the Magaramachi and their name reflects the uncomplicated naming schema of these people. A combination of the Abyssal Stewards and the help received from the Shifting Ennead in colonising the region has led to those Magaramachi who are the most committed to the Eternal Communion or otherwise mystically minded being the ones most likely to set up a new life here. The numerically few colonists take up an out-of-proportion amount of space as each lays claim to a wide area to focus more on eating the native flora and fauna than one another.

When they do choose to meet for mating or fighting, Hottest Vent is the place they do so and something of a de facto holy site. It's not actually the hottest vent in the region, coming in at seventh according to the Abyssal Stewards but it was the hottest vent the Magaramachi had found at the time it got its name and they weren't about to go round learning a different name or anything.

Relations are strained to the point of non-existence between the Hot Vents colonists and those Magaramchi which remained in the salination. The physical leadership style of the Magaramchi fades quickly with distance and the Hot Vents colonsts consider themselves a seperate nation. The Salination and whoever lays claim to it at the moment, predictably, doesn't.

Spoiler: Resources

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Whichever long past civilisation created the tablets so beloved of th Bloodripper Lands had a presence here and had clearly domesticated the filter feeding sharks of the area that swarm around the rich vent ecosystems. That taming had been carried in their genes and the Abyssal Stewards who came here to study the vents found it easy enough to re-instill.

Twice Tamed Sharks are adorable, friendly creatures who joyfully come up and nuzzle anyone nearby and eagerly splash around in play if engaged with. They're filter feeders without an aggresive bone in their body and are, by shark standards, relatively intelligent and can be trained to recognise their name and come when called.

Also, the whimpering noise they make if they're still alive when you start eating them is absolutely hilarious.

The newly settled settlers settle in their settlements and soon discover some problems. Eating the sharks is fine but doesn't provide much in the way of variety while the microfauna around the vents is too micro to provide a satisfying meal. They cry out for a ready supply of creaures to eat: Domesticated Animals to provide breeding stocks to supply the insatiable Magaramchi appetites.

Proposed Miltech (next round)

Colonised Battlefields
Military slot: Fortifications
Pre-reqs: 2 of {Mounts and Warbeast tech, Sappers and Siege Weapons tech, Dropped Weapons tech}
Effects: If using at least two of the prereq techs, a foothold is gained if the battle is lost.
Write up: When armies march supported by enough ordinance then defeating them on the field is often not enough. If the defeat isn't resounding enough the field will be littered with static weaponry, supporting warbeasts will breed and generally the area will be dangerous for a few years to come. This will provide a staging post for further fights as some of the material and ordinance is already present.

[Gengy]

Yes, I'd definitely count that as a Luxury. Thanks for asking!
Light Source / Fertilizer / Bioluminescence for Jellyfish poop makes sense to me. Can you alter the resource description to make it clear that it's not hot, and perhaps elaborate on the fertilizing properties?

Export: Scouring Serum. (Fertilizer, Light Source, Bioluminescence) The Sea Fowl of the region are useful for their eggs, and the eggs are useful for the food they make… but it is what the Sea Fowl eat that is truly wonderful. The Scouring Jellyfish emits a strange blue light all over it’s body, and can be captured – and properly fed – to make light in even the darkest of waters, but training them to stay in play is an effort in idiocy. However, it’s their Scouring Serum that is powerfully fascinating. When provoked, the Jellyfish spits out a single line of deep blue ink that rapidly lights up the water around it, making it uncomfortably bright in the area, and even more uncomfortable on bare skin (causing itching), but when it comes into contact with plant life, this jellyfish poop is greedily consumed by the local flora as nutrients. The Sea Fowl are unaffected by the itching, making them natural predators… and a hint of how to properly gather the Scouring Serum. Mer bedecked in gloves lined with Sea Fowl feathers can quickly gather the Scouring Serum into an empty Sea Fowl eggshell, saving its light and useful farming properties for later.

Highlighted areas were updated. Adding to Waters of the World now for both regions. Please let me know if I need to make further alterations.

No. I am unwilling to fundamentally alter the underlying math behind combat. There is precedent for tacdocs with conditions like "If outnumbering ...". If you want to make something that ties into outnumbering, I would recommend doing something similar to that.

Fair enough. How about the following?

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Tactical Doctrine Discussion: "Numerous as Rain" (v2)
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Effect: When Outnumbering the opponent, check to see if your Significantly Outnumber them. Significantly Outnumbering begins with the second (+1) from normal Outnumbering rules [From The Rules: To determine the Outnumbering bonus, add up all units on both sides of the battle. Whichever side has more units gets +1. If they have at least 50% more units than the smaller army, they get an additional +1.] If this condition is true, roll (-2) to the Tactical Maneuvering as it takes more effort to coordinate forces. On a successful Tactical Maneuvering roll, gain (+4) to the Battle Roll, and (-20%) to own casualties.

Mathematical Breakdown...
-2 Points: (-2) to this Tactical Maneuvering Roll
-2 Points: Special Outnumbering condition
+4 Points: +4 to Battle Roll
+2 Points: -20% to own casualties

This may not be the final version of this, because I'm trying to determine point penalties for the tactical maneuvering roll negative and the special condition I have set for myself for outnumbering things.

---

New discussion! New tech idea.

Military 10 - Army Administration
(Logistics & Morale)
Requires: Supernatic Propagation, a Fortress controlled by the tech user's kingdom in a Depth 0 region.

Effect: When calculating distance penalties for Military actions, you may start at the Fortress region either you own or of a country with whom is your vassal, skipping over the intervening regions and counting the distance as only 3 regions. Distance penalties are calculated normally from that point on. The normal route must still be displayed, even if distance losses start at the Fortress region. If the normal route would allow for interception, the Intercept Army action may still be taken, and rules for Interception are followed from there. Distance losses are calculated normally for Intercept Army actions, if the Intercept Army action happens in a region before reaching the Fortress region.

By growing additional resources within and above the Fortresses themselves, armies can more safely move, assured that they will be properly resupplied.

[Volthawk]

Finally got the writeup together for my tech this round.

Spoiler: Deepwater Survival System

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Prerequisites: Oxygenating Implantations, Biolumiscent Navigation, Resource: Crystal/Glass
Effect: Allows the traversal of Depth 3 region.

The Deepwater Survival System is a creation of Welpir Yellan, an integration of Miru Miru's exploration technology and Cyphiri waste exploration techniques designed to allow the exploration and utilisation of the deepest waters. The system itself is made up of three parts - the crystal shell, the exterior organisms, and the internal ecosystem.
- The crystal shell is perhaps the simplest part - a crystal laminate, layers of luminous crystal and interlayers of a specially designed translucent organism, that together can handle the high pressures of the depths and is resistant to shattering.
- The exterior organisms are those rare engineered species that can survive the depths, unsuitable for exploration alone due to their limitations, only capable of basic movement when biological sensors are triggered - here, though certain colours, frequencies and sequences of light from some internal organisms. These provide propulsion for the system - typically along the seafloor, the vessel dragging itself along on the equivalent to hundreds of small legs - while some others are deemed suitable to act as manipulators (albeit lacking in much fine manipulation), and a few are bioluminescent and can guide the way (although those made using luminous crystal have little need for those organisms). Scouting is handled by a group of organisms connected to the top of the vessel - one grows small and brightly lumiscent balls, a short-lived but pressure-tolerant organism and deposits it onto the second organism, which simply moves when exposed to the correct light stimulus to throw and scatter the luminous balls out ahead of the vessel to light up the area.
- The interior ecosystem, though, is perhaps the part the creators of the system are most proud of. Using the various organisms invented by the Miru Miru - bioluminescent organisms used in less deep waters being used to light the interior of the vessel, some others tweaked to produce the specific light codes that the exterior organisms respond to, the oxygenating organisms that were previously implanted now improved into free-floating colonies that (along with the network of organisms normally found on Cyphiri waste-worthy vessels) keep the water inside the system survivable for the crew. The controls are also found here, a cluster of organisms that react to physical touch and emit light, fine-tuned to get a reaction from a specific external organism - this way, the crew can direct the vessel to move, control its manipulators and activate or deactivate any light-projecting organisms.

Spoiler: MS Paint of a DSS vessel for reference

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[MappyPK]

Region 149: Oka Oka Okale

Spoiler: Geography

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Oka Oka Okale’s most prominent feature is the long sandy slope that reaches down towards its depths from the neighboring Aniwana, which has become littered with a myriad of stones in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. Given the sandy terrain, the native people, a group of sea slugs, were unable to climb up the hill to figure out the source of these mysterious rocks. Unbeknownst to them, the stones are actually a result of discarded Taikan garden rocks. When a Taikan relocates to a new shelter, it is traditional to remove all traces of their previous bubble garden. While plants can be uprooted and eaten and bubbles can be popped, the centerpiece rocks are difficult to dispose of, so many have taken to discarding them by simply allowing them to roll out of Aniwana. The region is otherwise unremarkable, with a relatively barren stone floor and occasional formations that hold up important structures, such as the local Chora Base.

Spoiler: People

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In addition to a modest population of native Taikans, a large number of Sluug have been discovered to be living on the seafloor. Previously an uncontacted species, the cultural intricacies of these miniature white and gray sea slugs fall in line with those of Miru Miru quite well. Indeed, they are quite territorial within their family units. Their most defining characteristic, however, is their tendency to carry around decorative stones on their back, causing them to appear as though they are snails. Beauty is valued above all else in Sluug settlements, which the owner of the most fancy stone almost always declared leader of the village. Though now defunct as an organized faith, the local animist practices assert that one can enhance their soul through having a colorful and vibrant rock of a unique shape, causing many to take pilgrimages to the bottom of the slope, waiting for the stones to appear.

Spoiler: Resources

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The Giant Cleaner Wrasse are… useful, but not particularly bright, to put it lightly. Similarly to cleaner wrasse of normal proportions, they are highly efficient at cleaning other organisms, removing dirt, decaying matter, and parasites from them. This service is likely more valuable to natural predators than the energy they would provide as food. However, due to their scale, they are primarily attracted to sharks, rays, eels, and cetaceans. Having one of these try to clean a Taika, for example, would result in the Taikan being fully suctioned into its mouth. They can, however, be somewhat easily persuaded into scraping stone, metals, or even non-standard organisms clean by sprinkling the dead skin of a shark or eel onto said surfaces (and, given the nearby presence of Magaramachi eating friendly organisms, collecting this matter is no problem). [Giant Cleaner Wrasse would count as megafauna, domesticated creatures, and maybe one of either parasite hosts/unskilled labor.]

Unfortunately, the relative lack of intellect possessed by the Giant Cleaner Wrasse results in much of the seafloor being scraped clean of its algae and decaying organisms, removing all natural fertilizers necessary for growing food. As a result, these products must be imported in large quantities.

Spoiler: Faith

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The first of two common beliefs in Oka Oka Okale, Worldsong cannot be described as anything other than cultish. While not necessarily an organized religious belief in itself, its followers live below the Chora base present here. Indeed, the base itself sits upon something of a plateau close to the surface, while these people create hamlets and outposts around its base, simply referred to as (HS1) The Chora Base Base. Unable to live without the splendor of the Chora’s songs, they have since turned into a choir of their own, singing about the majesty and grace of the Chora and their turtles. Rumor has it that they do not sound particularly good.

On the other hand, followers of the Animist Practices believe that each and every object in the sea contains a soul of its own, that persists beyond the grave. Most notably, the colorful stones that come rolling down the hills are said to be the most energetic and vitalizing souls of them all, and should one collide with you at any time, you have been chosen to receive its blessing of liveliness, wealth, virtue, or some other generally positive quality depending on its color. However, if one dares steal a stone from (HS2) The Pebble Bed, both parties will lose their souls and fade away, unable to find a reason to continue living. In recent years, followers of the Animist Practices have dwindled in number, being replaced by many Flowing Way followers.

[Epinephrine_Syn]

Potential Eco 10 Tech proposal.

Throat Of The World

Acoustics require large spaces. A shroud itself can be a makeshift amphitheater, spreading and harvesting the power of harmony, spreading it far and wide to give the exponential growth that Mawbel has learned in her profession as a Songstress. The heat from down below only makes the voices stronger, haven't you heard that drinking a good glass of liquid lava between stage performances keeps the throat moist?


You may Compose/Conduct/Chorus within a Magma Shroud to get +3 to that action (does not stack with Rustplagued). If you have the Magma Pulse feature, you gain 1 Magma Pulse every time you succeed at a Compose/Conduct/Chorus action.

[Epinephrine_Syn]

Region 47 Write Up Submission

Region Title: Town Square

Geography: Cold. So cold. Infested with way too much yucky, sunlight sapping moss. Thankfully the living areas have been swept clean of said moss to make room for the Mawbel Hedge, allowing her to govern this city efficiently through the grace of her thorny oversight. Clean, even flats of land plated with steel, made into significantly sized squares as construction to place buildings upon. All centered and compressed into the rough shape of an elongated square visible from space, and there is no better word to describe this shape.

Outside of the Town Square is savage wilds, area laid claim to by foreign titans, endless rows of moss, poor clownfish. No need for roads, and no real capacity to build them either. Unlike the dries above, even with the Titan Of Industry who specializes in wheeled infrastructure at the helm, waterborne travel is too efficient to bother. There is a nice scenic view of the wastes above (north), and the increase in shipments over the years have caused the geography to be shaped into useful crevices and caverns to be used as resting sites.


People: The Clownfish that used to populate this region are scarce, now. They have been splintered into three general categories on the advent of Mawbels acquisition of the Town Square. The Elites, who make up the aristocracy, were given a whole lot of wealth to betray and sell out their compatriots, until finally they wound up with significant power over their kin. The Warriors, which really consists of all the able bodied Clownfish, assigned as workhorses to the Elite, although many have been signed off to Mawbel for future resale, probably to the Nacres as their final fate. The Janitors, whose job it is to clean up the Hoarfeast Moss and stop it from getting in the way of the elegant construction within the city.

These groups have been split up to optimally rip apart families, ties, and old bonds to best help new bonds form to their new community and jobs. Elites are exempt from this, but are segregated and rivaling each other sufficiently to render it unnecessary. Aside from the natives there is a huge influx of mercenaries and adherents to The Eternal Communion, discussion on how to run the city and what to build reckons throughout on a day to day basis. All the while, as the miniature wars are fought and opulence games are collected, Mawbel scrapes the excess to


Resource: Hoarfeast Moss

Scraping the excess isn’t just for the sheep. Turns out with enough of the rival plants, one can make use of them. Edible, for isolates, if not for plants. Very good at collecting frost in the cold climate, can be useful for many things of a polar nature. The plenty is the biggest upside, everyone is capable of feasting just from what the Janitors collect. It could be an invasive species if allowed to spread to Verja, and Mawbel specifically does not want that infection choking out her roots. It is really only due to the industry of the great one that this active weed is harnessed into a tasty commodity.

Desired Import: Precious Minerals

Shiny people need shiny things. The precious, my precious. A sort of proxy commodity, at least that’s what’s best guessed. The inhabitants use it for something, but their overlord has not especially paid much attention as to what. As long as she can supply them, they seem happy, and an opiate by any other name is still as sweet.


Faith: Eternal Communion (describe 2 holy sites)

The Rectangle: A horrendous thing, shaped by Mawbel herself, incorrectly measured and placed right near the top. During construction, Mawbel decided to just let it keep going and going as an overline, calling it religious and pretending that bit of architecture was intended. True to form, a thing so named will become that thing in truth, and as more and more people used it as a market for their exchanges and worship, it started to become in truth a place of power.

Green Square: One singular square has been left as a moss farm within the Town Square as a moss farm, providing easier access to food within. A holy statue was built in this area to indicate it be left comparatively untouched, and people started worshipping it as a place of plenty in what is often a dry season between shipments of food from the outside.

[Gengy]

Garza Feld
(Region 167)

Spoiler: People

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Those whom live in Garza Feld refer to themselves as Ghonites (Gone-ights). A single Ghonite appears as a grey scaled fish with colorful dorsal and caudal fins, while their pectoral fins are separated into lengthy tentacles at the end. Ghonites have piercing eyes that stare unblinking into the waters, and while the eye color of a brilliant turquoise remains true for all Ghonites, the distinguishing features for individuals of their almost tribal tattoos-like black scales help to tell one Ghonite from another.

Spoiler: Example of a Ghonite

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Ghonites have records indicating that they were once a type of creature that could soar through the skies, but exactly how that is true is much debated among the priests of the Hierarchy of Ghon.

Prior to the region coming under the control of the Builder's Union, Garza Feld had a very strict caste system; unlike the caste system of the Gotezhar, however, there were no choices and it was all a matter of which clutch of eggs a Ghonite spawned from. The Builder's Union was quick to understand that the higher levels of the Hierarchy were doing the choosing in ways that only benefited them, keeping the majority of Ghonites reliant upon their largesse... which was rare and only, once again, to the benefit of those in charge.

Spoiler: Geography

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Most of the more northern waters of Garza Feld are too cold for Ghonites to live, the more southern regions begin to get toxic, and the rest of the region is brackish. In short, Garza Feld is a terrible place to live, but the Ghonites have adapted. The brackish waters are now something they are more comfortable with, and though it leaves their otherwise resplendently colored dorsal fins often a much dirtier brown, the Ghonites have adjusted. Mostly.

There is a larger community of Ghonites who live in what was once their independent nation's capital to the the northwest, amidst a large coral reef full of Greenslate Panel-made houses. By virtue of the coral reef being closer to the water's surface and made of some unique organic flora that eats the particulates in the water, this is one of the few places in the region that is almost always clean compared to elsewhere. Called 'Ghonshome', this was apparently the place for all of the Ghonites when the species survived the Cataclysm, but after so many centuries, too many Ghonites have spawned, and Ghonshome can only hold so many. The Hierarchy was already corrupt by the time the decision was made that Ghonshome should only be for the Worthy, and the Unworthy should find shelter elsewhere.

Spoiler: Resource

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Export: Greenslate Panels [Organic Hard Material, Building Material, Megaflora]
Growing in select parts of the region are large sheets of algae, that are actually just one after another of the same rapidly re-growing enormous plant. This plant is referred to as Greenslate, as the algae forms up into large square sections that are hard as stone when fully grown. The more industrious of the natives take to placing guiding poles where Greenslate will grow, allowing them to shape how the Greenslate Panels look before harvesting. Harvests take between two to three years for larger sections. Something in the soil of Garza Feld makes it easy to grow Greenslate, but additional study would be required to make it grow elsewhere. Immediately after a successful harvest, the algae creates a Greenslate Sporing - a burst of green nutritious particulates, which is actually the plant releasing distressing sap - that attracts small fish, making it easy for the locals to have a source of food, even if previously this was horded by those at the top of the Hierarchy.

Required Resource: Textiles
As a formerly impoverished region, Garza Feld has many whom lack even the basic needs; while food is now more evenly distributed, and housing is being handled thanks to the Builder's Union, there are still quite a number of people whom need clothing. The stubborn nature of the natives, however, makes it hard to just give them clothes. Instead, they want the materials and Textiles that will allow them to make their own clothing.

Spoiler: Faith

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Hierarchy of Ghon - Many solutions and problems both have happened because of the Hierarchy. The corrupted portions of the Hierarchy - those whom were abusing their power - have since been removed, but the local priests who remain still teach of the histories of Ghon, the local Garza Feld hero whom saved his people from the Cataclysm and established their rule of law. The local Clergy are unhappy with the recent changes, but can see the visible improvements now that the corrupted leadership has been removed.

Holy Site: "Ghon's Seat"

A temple dedicated to the Hero of the Cataclysm, who found a way for his people to survive under the sea. Found in the center of Ghonshome.

Holy Site: "The Sunlight Records"

A temple and library close to the water's surface that shows the people the strictures and laws that allow them to remain underwater.

[Torv]

Throwing in another GP before round close:

Tune of Dissonance
+1 to Listen to the deafeningly empty static or Gwrfaedlaithe's dangerously loud language.

Fluff TBD

[Aerin]

Submitting a region writeup:

Region 12 - Wid Oe'masoar

Spoiler: Geography

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The seafloor is rather uneven, with terraces, cliffs and caverns a frequent sight due to the crystal eating into the soft soil occasionally. Thankfully, it does not eat all minerals. To the north, its expansion is inhibited by the White Mountains, composed of granite with massive quartz veins and not an inch of soil. In the south, the crystal cannot cross the endless deserts stripped bare by frequent natural disasters.

However, the crystal's path westward is clear. It could potentially grow into and devour all of tropics, which is almost what happened at one point in the past, as told by the oral myths of the people of Wid Oe'masoar. The stories differ on many details; they agree on this: when the precarious situation became apparent, and six kings from surrounding regions gathered to discuss how to stop the deadly crystal flood, an orphan prayed for the intervention of the gods more earnestly than anyone in history, offering his life in return. His prayers were heard out, and his body was transformed into Orphan's Mound, a strange lone hill in the west of the region. It is the only place or material that seems to actively repel the crystal. Chemical analysis of the rock has so far yielded no results that would explain the phenomenon.

Spoiler: People

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The Mer that inhabit this region have gray fur. Despite living in a tropical region, they wear thick, fluffy workclothes that protects against the corrosive crystals. If the crystals start eating into the clothing, you discard it and swim away. In the past, the locals used to organize into migratory tribes that lived on the fringes of the region or in neighboring regions for most of the year and only during a short season they ventured into the crystal-infected heart of the region to stock up on crystal to trade and the fruits and vegetables growing between the crystal lodes that are left uneaten by animals. Now, technology and modern safety procedures have enabled the specialization of labor. Crystal factory workers live in specially insulated towns amongst the crystal lodes, obviating the need for migration. Tribes have been reorganized into urban and rural counties, all ruled by a by a governor appointed from the Tairlav palace.

Spoiler: Resource

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(credit: Tychris)
Crystal Chips are an invasive and potentially ecologically devastating naturally occuring substance. A strangely mutated form of Aragonite crystal that grows in the region, it seemingly multiplies itself over and over again, and consumes all that unfortunately cannot get out of its way. Similar in nature to Kudzu this crystalline aberration is a goldmine for harvesting resources so long as you can move your cultivating operation out of the way and / or don't care about the safety or livelihood of your miners. This substance is sometimes thought to be sentient by those locals who have observed it over time, as it waxes or wanes and continues its inexorable tide onwards, and yet scholars vehemently disagree after researching it and instead ascribe the locals to simply anthropomorphizing a powerful force of nature that they can curb but not completely erase. Its name derives from the way that it grows, for the substance when not harvested is noticeably brittle, and can easily chip off fresh pieces which when left unattended will spread the Crystals even further. Careful processing after harvesting is required from these crystals or else the processing plant will become overrun by the very substance it wishes to reap benefit from.

Desired Import: Parasite Hosts
Although the crystal can consume almost anything, if it is fed a special diet, it has slightly different properties. In particular, if it eats the flesh of living beings, it is sharper and harder. In the past, even sentient beings - slaves were sacrificed to the crystal. Of course, this tradition is illegal now, but the region still needs to import masses of livestock to produce high-quality material and satisfy believers who practice sacrifice for religious reasons.

Spoiler: Faith

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The Prismatic Schismatics are united in the belief in the crystal's divine nature and of the existence of gods currently ruling the world that oppose the crystal's expansion, lest it could take over as the ruler of the waters and heavens of this world. However, they disagree among themselves on nearly everything else, including the fact of whether the crystal is benevolent or malevolent.

HC1: Orphan's Mound
The hill, a key piece in containing the crystal, is considered to be a holy place by the locals. They keep the seagrass growing on it neat and they restore the hill's round shape when a landslide occurs.

HC2: Cordial Lode
The Cordial Lode is the biggest contiguous area infested by the crystal, wide enough that its center remains hidden from the outside even during lowest crystaltide. The crystal here takes on a darker color and resists the usual treatment to make it safe to handle. It is where the crystal's consciousness is thought to reside... among the Prismatic Schismatics who think the crystal has a central location, rather than having its presence distributed evenly.

HC3: Pleasure Hall
The Hedonistic Cynicists, a sect looked on with suspicion, spend as much of their free time here in a mansion of luxury. They do not care about the crystal or much else in the world, believing that one's time is wasted by doing anything else than enjoying oneself to the fullest, and they have constructed the Pleasure Hall to serve this purpose. All spare income of believers is donated to the Hall, to allow it to serve food and provide entertainment suitable for royalty.

What a bloodthirsty crystalline menace! I love it! Please add the region to the Waters of the World.

Final write up - requested changes in title + DI write up

Region 156
Hot Vents

Spoiler: Geography

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This area, new to the Magaramachi, is already well known to the Abyssal Stewards due to the numerous thermal vents that dot the sea floor, making the already warm waters even warmer.
Each has a thriving ecosystem of microfauna around it with the stationary nature of these creatures meaning that each vent has unique species not found elsewhere, making the place a goldmine for biologsts or geneticists. Also gold miners. A rich seam of gold lies exposed in the north west corner of the land, essentially useless to the undersea races but shiny enough to be attractive.

Spoiler: People and Faith

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Hot Vents was colonised by the Magaramachi and their name reflects the uncomplicated naming schema of these people. A combination of the Abyssal Stewards and the help received from the Shifting Ennead in colonising the region has led to those Magaramachi who are the most committed to the Eternal Communion or otherwise mystically minded being the ones most likely to set up a new life here. The numerically few colonists take up an out-of-proportion amount of space as each lays claim to a wide area to focus more on eating the native flora and fauna than one another.

When they do choose to meet for mating or fighting, Hottest Vent is the place they do so and something of a de facto holy site. It's not actually the hottest vent in the region, coming in at seventh according to the Abyssal Stewards but it was the hottest vent the Magaramachi had found at the time it got its name and they weren't about to go round learning a different name or anything.

Relations are strained to the point of non-existence between the Hot Vents colonists and those Magaramchi which remained in the salination. The physical leadership style of the Magaramchi fades quickly with distance and the Hot Vents colonsts consider themselves a seperate nation. The Salination and whoever lays claim to it at the moment, predictably, doesn't.

Spoiler: Resources

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Whichever long past civilisation created the tablets so beloved of th Bloodripper Lands had a presence here and had clearly domesticated the filter feeding sharks of the area that swarm around the rich vent ecosystems. That taming had been carried in their genes and the Abyssal Stewards who came here to study the vents found it easy enough to re-instill.

Twice Tamed Sharks are adorable, friendly creatures who joyfully come up and nuzzle anyone nearby and eagerly splash around in play if engaged with. They're filter feeders without an aggresive bone in their body and are, by shark standards, relatively intelligent and can be trained to recognise their name and come when called.

Also, the whimpering noise they make if they're still alive when you start eating them is absolutely hilarious.

The newly settled settlers settle in their settlements and soon discover some problems. Eating the sharks is fine but doesn't provide much in the way of variety while the microfauna around the vents is too micro to provide a satisfying meal. They cry out for a ready supply of creaures to eat: Domesticated Animals to provide breeding stocks to supply the insatiable Magaramchi appetites.

Proposed Miltech (next round)

Colonised Battlefields
Military slot: Fortifications
Pre-reqs: 2 of {Mounts and Warbeast tech, Sappers and Siege Weapons tech, Dropped Weapons tech}
Effects: If using at least two of the prereq techs, a foothold is gained if the battle is lost.
Write up: When armies march supported by enough ordinance then defeating them on the field is often not enough. If the defeat isn't resounding enough the field will be littered with static weaponry, supporting warbeasts will breed and generally the area will be dangerous for a few years to come. This will provide a staging post for further fights as some of the material and ordinance is already present.

Region: I changed the Desired Import to Building Supplies, because I wasn't paying enough attention when assigning the original DI to realize that the region could satisfy its own import. Apologies. Other than the DI, everything looks good.

Tech: Suggested revised effect: "If using at least two of the prereq techs, a foothold is gained if tactical maneuvering is won and the battle is lost."
To reduce redundancy, I'd shorten the effect description to "Gain a foothold upon winning tactical maneuvering."

Export: Scouring Serum. (Fertilizer, Light Source, Bioluminescence) The Sea Fowl of the region are useful for their eggs, and the eggs are useful for the food they make… but it is what the Sea Fowl eat that is truly wonderful. The Scouring Jellyfish emits a strange blue light all over it’s body, and can be captured – and properly fed – to make light in even the darkest of waters, but training them to stay in play is an effort in idiocy. However, it’s their Scouring Serum that is powerfully fascinating. When provoked, the Jellyfish spits out a single line of deep blue ink that rapidly lights up the water around it, making it uncomfortably bright in the area, and even more uncomfortable on bare skin (causing itching), but when it comes into contact with plant life, this jellyfish poop is greedily consumed by the local flora as nutrients. The Sea Fowl are unaffected by the itching, making them natural predators… and a hint of how to properly gather the Scouring Serum. Mer bedecked in gloves lined with Sea Fowl feathers can quickly gather the Scouring Serum into an empty Sea Fowl eggshell, saving its light and useful farming properties for later.

Highlighted areas were updated. Adding to Waters of the World now for both regions. Please let me know if I need to make further alterations.



Fair enough. How about the following?

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Tactical Doctrine Discussion: "Numerous as Rain" (v2)
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Effect: When Outnumbering the opponent, check to see if your Significantly Outnumber them. Significantly Outnumbering begins with the second (+1) from normal Outnumbering rules [From The Rules: To determine the Outnumbering bonus, add up all units on both sides of the battle. Whichever side has more units gets +1. If they have at least 50% more units than the smaller army, they get an additional +1.] If this condition is true, roll (-2) to the Tactical Maneuvering as it takes more effort to coordinate forces. On a successful Tactical Maneuvering roll, gain (+4) to the Battle Roll, and (-20%) to own casualties.

Mathematical Breakdown...
-2 Points: (-2) to this Tactical Maneuvering Roll
-2 Points: Special Outnumbering condition
+4 Points: +4 to Battle Roll
+2 Points: -20% to own casualties

This may not be the final version of this, because I'm trying to determine point penalties for the tactical maneuvering roll negative and the special condition I have set for myself for outnumbering things.

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New discussion! New tech idea.

Military 10 - Army Administration
(Logistics & Morale)
Requires: Supernatic Propagation, a Fortress controlled by the tech user's kingdom in a Depth 0 region.

Effect: When calculating distance penalties for Military actions, you may start at the Fortress region either you own or of a country with whom is your vassal, skipping over the intervening regions and counting the distance as only 3 regions. Distance penalties are calculated normally from that point on. The normal route must still be displayed, even if distance losses start at the Fortress region. If the normal route would allow for interception, the Intercept Army action may still be taken, and rules for Interception are followed from there. Distance losses are calculated normally for Intercept Army actions, if the Intercept Army action happens in a region before reaching the Fortress region.

By growing additional resources within and above the Fortresses themselves, armies can more safely move, assured that they will be properly resupplied.

Scouring Serum: That's fantastic! Thanks for altering it. Miltech to increase its itchyness when?

Tacdoc: I'm not 100% sure I'm interpreting this right, but it reads to me like you could rephrase it as:
"If you have at least 100% more units than the opponent: -2 tactical maneuvering, +4 battles, -20% own casualties"

My breakdown:
-2 points: -2 TM
+4 points: +4 battles
+2 points: -20% own casualties
-1 point: conditional

You're 1 point over the balance, here.

Miltech: I will reject any tech that tries to make Fortresses function like TRs or CEs for skipping distance losses. If you want to reduce distance losses, I'd suggest simpler technologies along these lines:
"-X effective regions when calculating distance losses"
"negate the first X units lost to distance"
"roll 1d3 instead of 1d2 for distance loss rolls, losing a unit on a 1"

Finally got the writeup together for my tech this round.

Spoiler: Deepwater Survival System

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Prerequisites: Oxygenating Implantations, Biolumiscent Navigation, Resource: Crystal/Glass
Effect: Allows the traversal of Depth 3 region.

The Deepwater Survival System is a creation of Welpir Yellan, an integration of Miru Miru's exploration technology and Cyphiri waste exploration techniques designed to allow the exploration and utilisation of the deepest waters. The system itself is made up of three parts - the crystal shell, the exterior organisms, and the internal ecosystem.
- The crystal shell is perhaps the simplest part - a crystal laminate, layers of luminous crystal and interlayers of a specially designed translucent organism, that together can handle the high pressures of the depths and is resistant to shattering.
- The exterior organisms are those rare engineered species that can survive the depths, unsuitable for exploration alone due to their limitations, only capable of basic movement when biological sensors are triggered - here, though certain colours, frequencies and sequences of light from some internal organisms. These provide propulsion for the system - typically along the seafloor, the vessel dragging itself along on the equivalent to hundreds of small legs - while some others are deemed suitable to act as manipulators (albeit lacking in much fine manipulation), and a few are bioluminescent and can guide the way (although those made using luminous crystal have little need for those organisms). Scouting is handled by a group of organisms connected to the top of the vessel - one grows small and brightly lumiscent balls, a short-lived but pressure-tolerant organism and deposits it onto the second organism, which simply moves when exposed to the correct light stimulus to throw and scatter the luminous balls out ahead of the vessel to light up the area.
- The interior ecosystem, though, is perhaps the part the creators of the system are most proud of. Using the various organisms invented by the Miru Miru - bioluminescent organisms used in less deep waters being used to light the interior of the vessel, some others tweaked to produce the specific light codes that the exterior organisms respond to, the oxygenating organisms that were previously implanted now improved into free-floating colonies that (along with the network of organisms normally found on Cyphiri waste-worthy vessels) keep the water inside the system survivable for the crew. The controls are also found here, a cluster of organisms that react to physical touch and emit light, fine-tuned to get a reaction from a specific external organism - this way, the crew can direct the vessel to move, control its manipulators and activate or deactivate any light-projecting organisms.

Spoiler: MS Paint of a DSS vessel for reference

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A++. I wish all tech proposals came with a helpful schematic like this. Approved!
I think this tech is 100% suited to exploration of Depth 3 regions, but might stumble a bit when it comes to creating permanent settlements in the depths. You might want to expand the fluff scope a bit towards creating large habitation domes using this same technology.

Region 149: Oka Oka Okale

Spoiler: Geography

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Oka Oka Okale’s most prominent feature is the long sandy slope that reaches down towards its depths from the neighboring Aniwana, which has become littered with a myriad of stones in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. Given the sandy terrain, the native people, a group of sea slugs, were unable to climb up the hill to figure out the source of these mysterious rocks. Unbeknownst to them, the stones are actually a result of discarded Taikan garden rocks. When a Taikan relocates to a new shelter, it is traditional to remove all traces of their previous bubble garden. While plants can be uprooted and eaten and bubbles can be popped, the centerpiece rocks are difficult to dispose of, so many have taken to discarding them by simply allowing them to roll out of Aniwana. The region is otherwise unremarkable, with a relatively barren stone floor and occasional formations that hold up important structures, such as the local Chora Base.

Spoiler: People

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In addition to a modest population of native Taikans, a large number of Sluug have been discovered to be living on the seafloor. Previously an uncontacted species, the cultural intricacies of these miniature white and gray sea slugs fall in line with those of Miru Miru quite well. Indeed, they are quite territorial within their family units. Their most defining characteristic, however, is their tendency to carry around decorative stones on their back, causing them to appear as though they are snails. Beauty is valued above all else in Sluug settlements, which the owner of the most fancy stone almost always declared leader of the village. Though now defunct as an organized faith, the local animist practices assert that one can enhance their soul through having a colorful and vibrant rock of a unique shape, causing many to take pilgrimages to the bottom of the slope, waiting for the stones to appear.

Spoiler: Resources

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The Giant Cleaner Wrasse are… useful, but not particularly bright, to put it lightly. Similarly to cleaner wrasse of normal proportions, they are highly efficient at cleaning other organisms, removing dirt, decaying matter, and parasites from them. This service is likely more valuable to natural predators than the energy they would provide as food. However, due to their scale, they are primarily attracted to sharks, rays, eels, and cetaceans. Having one of these try to clean a Taika, for example, would result in the Taikan being fully suctioned into its mouth. They can, however, be somewhat easily persuaded into scraping stone, metals, or even non-standard organisms clean by sprinkling the dead skin of a shark or eel onto said surfaces (and, given the nearby presence of Magaramachi eating friendly organisms, collecting this matter is no problem). [Giant Cleaner Wrasse would count as megafauna, domesticated creatures, and maybe one of either parasite hosts/unskilled labor.]

Unfortunately, the relative lack of intellect possessed by the Giant Cleaner Wrasse results in much of the seafloor being scraped clean of its algae and decaying organisms, removing all natural fertilizers necessary for growing food. As a result, these products must be imported in large quantities.

Spoiler: Faith

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The first of two common beliefs in Oka Oka Okale, Worldsong cannot be described as anything other than cultish. While not necessarily an organized religious belief in itself, its followers live below the Chora base present here. Indeed, the base itself sits upon something of a plateau close to the surface, while these people create hamlets and outposts around its base, simply referred to as (HS1) The Chora Base Base. Unable to live without the splendor of the Chora’s songs, they have since turned into a choir of their own, singing about the majesty and grace of the Chora and their turtles. Rumor has it that they do not sound particularly good.

On the other hand, followers of the Animist Practices believe that each and every object in the sea contains a soul of its own, that persists beyond the grave. Most notably, the colorful stones that come rolling down the hills are said to be the most energetic and vitalizing souls of them all, and should one collide with you at any time, you have been chosen to receive its blessing of liveliness, wealth, virtue, or some other generally positive quality depending on its color. However, if one dares steal a stone from (HS2) The Pebble Bed, both parties will lose their souls and fade away, unable to find a reason to continue living. In recent years, followers of the Animist Practices have dwindled in number, being replaced by many Flowing Way followers.

This is adorable and silly, and I love it. Approved! Please add it to the Waters of the World.
Hear me out - Sluug, but with multi-colored Taikan bubbles on their backs instead of pretty rocks.
Giant Cleaner Wrasse: Parasite hosts, yes, definitely. Unskilled labor, no.

Potential Eco 10 Tech proposal.

Throat Of The World

Acoustics require large spaces. A shroud itself can be a makeshift amphitheater, spreading and harvesting the power of harmony, spreading it far and wide to give the exponential growth that Mawbel has learned in her profession as a Songstress. The heat from down below only makes the voices stronger, haven't you heard that drinking a good glass of liquid lava between stage performances keeps the throat moist?


You may Compose/Conduct/Chorus within a Magma Shroud to get +3 to that action (does not stack with Rustplagued). If you have the Magma Pulse feature, you gain 1 Magma Pulse every time you succeed at a Compose/Conduct/Chorus action.

Great synergy here! Approved!

Region 47 Write Up Submission

Region Title: Town Square

Geography: Cold. So cold. Infested with way too much yucky, sunlight sapping moss. Thankfully the living areas have been swept clean of said moss to make room for the Mawbel Hedge, allowing her to govern this city efficiently through the grace of her thorny oversight. Clean, even flats of land plated with steel, made into significantly sized squares as construction to place buildings upon. All centered and compressed into the rough shape of an elongated square visible from space, and there is no better word to describe this shape.

Outside of the Town Square is savage wilds, area laid claim to by foreign titans, endless rows of moss, poor clownfish. No need for roads, and no real capacity to build them either. Unlike the dries above, even with the Titan Of Industry who specializes in wheeled infrastructure at the helm, waterborne travel is too efficient to bother. There is a nice scenic view of the wastes above (north), and the increase in shipments over the years have caused the geography to be shaped into useful crevices and caverns to be used as resting sites.


People: The Clownfish that used to populate this region are scarce, now. They have been splintered into three general categories on the advent of Mawbels acquisition of the Town Square. The Elites, who make up the aristocracy, were given a whole lot of wealth to betray and sell out their compatriots, until finally they wound up with significant power over their kin. The Warriors, which really consists of all the able bodied Clownfish, assigned as workhorses to the Elite, although many have been signed off to Mawbel for future resale, probably to the Nacres as their final fate. The Janitors, whose job it is to clean up the Hoarfeast Moss and stop it from getting in the way of the elegant construction within the city.

These groups have been split up to optimally rip apart families, ties, and old bonds to best help new bonds form to their new community and jobs. Elites are exempt from this, but are segregated and rivaling each other sufficiently to render it unnecessary. Aside from the natives there is a huge influx of mercenaries and adherents to The Eternal Communion, discussion on how to run the city and what to build reckons throughout on a day to day basis. All the while, as the miniature wars are fought and opulence games are collected, Mawbel scrapes the excess to


Resource: Hoarfeast Moss

Scraping the excess isn’t just for the sheep. Turns out with enough of the rival plants, one can make use of them. Edible, for isolates, if not for plants. Very good at collecting frost in the cold climate, can be useful for many things of a polar nature. The plenty is the biggest upside, everyone is capable of feasting just from what the Janitors collect. It could be an invasive species if allowed to spread to Verja, and Mawbel specifically does not want that infection choking out her roots. It is really only due to the industry of the great one that this active weed is harnessed into a tasty commodity.

Desired Import: Precious Minerals

Shiny people need shiny things. The precious, my precious. A sort of proxy commodity, at least that’s what’s best guessed. The inhabitants use it for something, but their overlord has not especially paid much attention as to what. As long as she can supply them, they seem happy, and an opiate by any other name is still as sweet.


Faith: Eternal Communion (describe 2 holy sites)

The Rectangle: A horrendous thing, shaped by Mawbel herself, incorrectly measured and placed right near the top. During construction, Mawbel decided to just let it keep going and going as an overline, calling it religious and pretending that bit of architecture was intended. True to form, a thing so named will become that thing in truth, and as more and more people used it as a market for their exchanges and worship, it started to become in truth a place of power.

Green Square: One singular square has been left as a moss farm within the Town Square as a moss farm, providing easier access to food within. A holy statue was built in this area to indicate it be left comparatively untouched, and people started worshipping it as a place of plenty in what is often a dry season between shipments of food from the outside.

This is wonderful! Very evocative. Approved, please add it to the Waters of the World.
My only, very minor, critique is that it'd be nice to see some mention of the faith that existed before the Eternal Communion took over.

Spoiler: Region exploration blurb

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"Lux-Glossian explorers venture deeper into the cold seas, and they notice clumps of moss growing in strange patterned patches on boulders. Being explorers, curiosity is second nature to them. As they try to take samples, they are ambushed by the surgeonfish native to the region (a strange species adapted to the cold), who blub angrily that the explorers are disturbing their family records. Having esteemed ancestors is the single greatest factor of social status in the region, so every time someone dies, their family grows another clump of moss on the family boulder, with the shape and positioning of the moss and marks on the boulders indicating what kind of life that person lived. This way, their memory is preserved forever, and their descendants prosper under their protection... until some fools with scrapers and sample bags show up, that is.
The Lux-Glossian Shades explore southwest of region 49! They discover region 47, a glacial region with three Open TPs of Hoarfeast Moss, a Desired Import of Precious Minerals, 4 Units of Native Defenders, one Holy Site controlled by Familial Veneration, and one Open Holy Site."

Garza Feld
(Region 167)

Spoiler: People

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Those whom live in Garza Feld refer to themselves as Ghonites (Gone-ights). A single Ghonite appears as a grey scaled fish with colorful dorsal and caudal fins, while their pectoral fins are separated into lengthy tentacles at the end. Ghonites have piercing eyes that stare unblinking into the waters, and while the eye color of a brilliant turquoise remains true for all Ghonites, the distinguishing features for individuals of their almost tribal tattoos-like black scales help to tell one Ghonite from another.

Spoiler: Example of a Ghonite

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Ghonites have records indicating that they were once a type of creature that could soar through the skies, but exactly how that is true is much debated among the priests of the Hierarchy of Ghon.

Prior to the region coming under the control of the Builder's Union, Garza Feld had a very strict caste system; unlike the caste system of the Gotezhar, however, there were no choices and it was all a matter of which clutch of eggs a Ghonite spawned from. The Builder's Union was quick to understand that the higher levels of the Hierarchy were doing the choosing in ways that only benefited them, keeping the majority of Ghonites reliant upon their largesse... which was rare and only, once again, to the benefit of those in charge.

Spoiler: Geography

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Most of the more northern waters of Garza Feld are too cold for Ghonites to live, the more southern regions begin to get toxic, and the rest of the region is brackish. In short, Garza Feld is a terrible place to live, but the Ghonites have adapted. The brackish waters are now something they are more comfortable with, and though it leaves their otherwise resplendently colored dorsal fins often a much dirtier brown, the Ghonites have adjusted. Mostly.

There is a larger community of Ghonites who live in what was once their independent nation's capital to the the northwest, amidst a large coral reef full of Greenslate Panel-made houses. By virtue of the coral reef being closer to the water's surface and made of some unique organic flora that eats the particulates in the water, this is one of the few places in the region that is almost always clean compared to elsewhere. Called 'Ghonshome', this was apparently the place for all of the Ghonites when the species survived the Cataclysm, but after so many centuries, too many Ghonites have spawned, and Ghonshome can only hold so many. The Hierarchy was already corrupt by the time the decision was made that Ghonshome should only be for the Worthy, and the Unworthy should find shelter elsewhere.

Spoiler: Resource

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Export: Greenslate Panels [Organic Hard Material, Building Material, Megafauna]
Growing in select parts of the region are large sheets of algae, that are actually just one after another of the same rapidly re-growing enormous plant. This plant is referred to as Greenslate, as the algae forms up into large square sections that are hard as stone when fully grown. The more industrious of the natives take to placing guiding poles where Greenslate will grow, allowing them to shape how the Greenslate Panels look before harvesting. Harvests take between two to three years for larger sections. Something in the soil of Garza Feld makes it easy to grow Greenslate, but additional study would be required to make it grow elsewhere. Immediately after a successful harvest, the algae creates a Greenslate Sporing - a burst of green nutritious particulates, which is actually the plant releasing distressing sap - that attracts small fish, making it easy for the locals to have a source of food, even if previously this was horded by those at the top of the Hierarchy.

Required Resource: Textiles
As a formerly impoverished region, Garza Feld has many whom lack even the basic needs; while food is now more evenly distributed, and housing is being handled thanks to the Builder's Union, there are still quite a number of people whom need clothing. The stubborn nature of the natives, however, makes it hard to just give them clothes. Instead, they want the materials and Textiles that will allow them to make their own clothing.

Spoiler: Faith

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Hierarchy of Ghon - Many solutions and problems both have happened because of the Hierarchy. The corrupted portions of the Hierarchy - those whom were abusing their power - have since been removed, but the local priests who remain still teach of the histories of Ghon, the local Garza Feld hero whom saved his people from the Cataclysm and established their rule of law. The local Clergy are unhappy with the recent changes, but can see the visible improvements now that the corrupted leadership has been removed.

Holy Site: "Ghon's Seat"

A temple dedicated to the Hero of the Cataclysm, who found a way for his people to survive under the sea. Found in the center of Ghonshome.

Holy Site: "The Sunlight Records"

A temple and library close to the water's surface that shows the people the strictures and laws that allow them to remain underwater.

Ghonites look hella cool! Approved, please add it to the Waters of the World!
Note: Greenslate Panels do not count as Megafauna. They're more like Megaflora.

Throwing in another GP before round close:

Tune of Dissonance
+1 to Listen to the deafeningly empty static or Gwrfaedlaithe's dangerously loud language.

Fluff TBD

Approved! The Bears have a fine taste in static. Only the best white noise will suffice.

[Volthawk]

A++. I wish all tech proposals came with a helpful schematic like this. Approved!
I think this tech is 100% suited to exploration of Depth 3 regions, but might stumble a bit when it comes to creating permanent settlements in the depths. You might want to expand the fluff scope a bit towards creating large habitation domes using this same technology.

Funny thing, I was just having the same thought while writing up the action fluff, and yeah domed cities was the general line of thought I was having.

[Gengy]

Tacdoc: I'm not 100% sure I'm interpreting this right, but it reads to me like you could rephrase it as:
"If you have at least 100% more units than the opponent: -2 tactical maneuvering, +4 battles, -20% own casualties"

My breakdown:
-2 points: -2 TM
+4 points: +4 battles
+2 points: -20% own casualties
-1 point: conditional

You're 1 point over the balance, here.

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Miltech: I will reject any tech that tries to make Fortresses function like TRs or CEs for skipping distance losses. If you want to reduce distance losses, I'd suggest simpler technologies along these lines:
"-X effective regions when calculating distance losses"
"negate the first X units lost to distance"
"roll 1d3 instead of 1d2 for distance loss rolls, losing a unit on a 1"


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Ghonites look hella cool! Approved, please add it to the Waters of the World!
Note: Greenslate Panels do not count as Megafauna. They're more like Megaflora.

I think I was looking more at...

"If you have at least 50% more units than the opponent: -2 tactical maneuvering, +4 battles, -20% own casualties"

The flavor is right, though. Bigger number of units equal bigger damage with fewer losses, if coordinated well. Let's add something for that one point difference...

"If you have at least 50% more units than the opponent: -2 tactical maneuvering, +4 battles, -20% own casualties, +4 to enemy Leader Loss."

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...I dislike the hard line you've set, but lack the proper verbiage to better convince you to the alternative. I suppose it's just a difference of opinions here, but not one that I can do anything about to utilize Fortresses in the manner I want. So. I don't like it, but I accept your ruling.

Here is my conundrum. In my current position, if I want to attack someone (probably NPCs) far from my capital, but near my Exclave, I'm screwed. Even with a reduction in distance losses - something I very much want to do with this tech - I will be constantly flipping coins to hopefully not lose units.

By the rules, this is working as intended. And I agree with it. But I'm also trying to make my expenditures of Military 5s on Fortresses more meaningful. So here is my alterative idea:

Military 10 - Army Administration [version 2]
(Logistics & Morale)
Requires: Supernatic Propagation, a Fortress within an Exclave.

Effect: Fortresses in Exclaves increase the number of units allowed for use in the Exclave by (+2). You can now attack from an Exclave, up to that Exclave's total number of units, treating the Fortress as the temporary capital region for Distance Loss purposes.

=========

Military 10 - Army Administration [version 2.5]
(Logistics & Morale)
Requires: Supernatic Propagation, a Fortress within an Exclave.

Effect: Fortresses in Exclaves increase the number of units allowed for use in the Exclave by (+2). When you raise a Unit, you must mention if it is an Exclave Unit or not. Specify which Fortress. If you raise an Exclave Unit, next round, you can attack from that Exclave, up to that Exclave's total number of units, treating the Fortress as the temporary capital region for Distance Loss purposes.

=========

Obviously, I prefer version 2 rather than 2.5, but the latter version works better for a PvP game. It at least warns the surrounding players that an attack is coming, so long as they are paying attention.

In my specific case, I just wanna attack the NPC regions with fewer problems, and I like the idea of the Fortress being important to that.

---

Lastly, I've updated Megafauna to Megaflora, as that was my intention, but words are hard some times. It has been added to my Waters post(s).

[Aerin]

I think I was looking more at...

"If you have at least 50% more units than the opponent: -2 tactical maneuvering, +4 battles, -20% own casualties"

The flavor is right, though. Bigger number of units equal bigger damage with fewer losses, if coordinated well. Let's add something for that one point difference...

"If you have at least 50% more units than the opponent: -2 tactical maneuvering, +4 battles, -20% own casualties, +4 to enemy Leader Loss."

That adds up. Approved!

...I dislike the hard line you've set, but lack the proper verbiage to better convince you to the alternative. I suppose it's just a difference of opinions here, but not one that I can do anything about to utilize Fortresses in the manner I want. So. I don't like it, but I accept your ruling.

Here is my conundrum. In my current position, if I want to attack someone (probably NPCs) far from my capital, but near my Exclave, I'm screwed. Even with a reduction in distance losses - something I very much want to do with this tech - I will be constantly flipping coins to hopefully not lose units.

By the rules, this is working as intended. And I agree with it. But I'm also trying to make my expenditures of Military 5s on Fortresses more meaningful. So here is my alterative idea:

Military 10 - Army Administration [version 2]
(Logistics & Morale)
Requires: Supernatic Propagation, a Fortress within an Exclave.

Effect: Fortresses in Exclaves increase the number of units allowed for use in the Exclave by (+2). You can now attack from an Exclave, up to that Exclave's total number of units, treating the Fortress as the temporary capital region for Distance Loss purposes.

=========

Military 10 - Army Administration [version 2.5]
(Logistics & Morale)
Requires: Supernatic Propagation, a Fortress within an Exclave.

Effect: Fortresses in Exclaves increase the number of units allowed for use in the Exclave by (+2). When you raise a Unit, you must mention if it is an Exclave Unit or not. Specify which Fortress. If you raise an Exclave Unit, next round, you can attack from that Exclave, up to that Exclave's total number of units, treating the Fortress as the temporary capital region for Distance Loss purposes.

=========

Obviously, I prefer version 2 rather than 2.5, but the latter version works better for a PvP game. It at least warns the surrounding players that an attack is coming, so long as they are paying attention.

In my specific case, I just wanna attack the NPC regions with fewer problems, and I like the idea of the Fortress being important to that.

I'm also not going to approve any tech that allows you to treat a Fortress as a capital for routing purposes. Exclaves are costly. As you say, by the rules, this is working as intended. I fundamentally will not allow the very thing you are trying to accomplish - attacking from exclaves with greatly reduced distance losses.
If you want to make a tech that increases the effective unit cap for regions with Fortresses (thus increasing your capability to defend exclaves with Fortresses), I'm all for that. Or a tech for extra +battle or -casualties in regions with Fortresses. There are many other ways to make techs that will improve Fortresses!

[Volthawk]

I'm not going to be making use of it (every military tech I'll be making eventually will be based off my reanimation tech, naturally), but when it comes to what Gengy is trying to do, is there design scope for benefits that apply if you're within or adjacent to a region with a Fortress in it, so the core idea of "having a fortress means you can more effectively project force in the immediate area" is there, but you aren't sidestepping normal routing?

[TheDarkDM]

New region writeup:

Hamparan Pasang Surut (Region 32)

Spoiler: Geography

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Hamparan Pasang Surut (Region 32)

Abutting the toxic expanse that shrouds the southern tropical reaches, the white sand and clear waters of Hamparan Pasang Surut roll up to touch the mythical reaches of the surface. Taken in discrete segments, the region might easily pass for a paradise, sandy atolls and small islands encircled by white-sand shallows that nurture scattered expanses of coral and lush stands of sea grasses. Viewed from afar, however, the beauty of these waters is marred by the jagged chasms that separate each small archipelago. Jutting shards of igneous rock stud the walls of these canyons like broken teeth, while foreboding sea monts rise from the depths to pierce the waves like eerie sentinels. This interplay of darkness and light, warm water and bitter cold, creates a dizzying eddy of currents in these liminal canyons that divide the small settlements of the local mer and have historically prevented any organized unification.

Spoiler: People

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Shoal Wardens

A species of mer possessed of light-green skin and scales that range from a sand-yellow to a deep ochre in color. Organized in large extended family groups, each tribe occupies one of the islands of calm shallows that dot the region. Having survived as primarily agrarian communities prior to the renaissance, most tribal groups continue the tradition of tending their kelp patches and coral nurseries while engaging in sporadic trade with their neighbors. While the difficulty in traversing the region had prevented any large-scale unification prior to the arrival of the Lambent Syndicate, the five largest tribes had already begun consolidating power through intermarriage and mercantile domination, creating five vague and shifting power blocs engaged in simmering border skirmishes that sometimes flared into outright tribal warfare. Agents of the Lambent Empress infiltrated the three lesser powers of this quintet, and with the Syndicates vast resources were able to finance the subjugation of the two nominally supreme powers in the region. In the process, the three newly-dominant powers found themselves militarily dependent on continued Syndicate support, and their integration into the Syndicate swiftly followed.

Spoiler: Resource

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Delicate Mussels

While the stormy currents around the liminal depths of Hamparang Pasang Surut pose a danger to any traveling from one shallows tribe to another, eyes of tranquility in the storm provide an environment uniquely suited to the cultivation of a species of local mussel. These delicate mussels are prized for their meat and shells locally, and have proven attractive to foreign merchants for more exotic purposes.

Resource Requirement: Unskilled Labor

While the greatest mercantile bounty of the region is found outside its settled areas, the difficulty in navigating the liminal depths has long stymied large-scale cultivation efforts as well as inter-tribe commerce. It is for this reason that the locals expect any parent kingdom or suzerain power to provide adequate labor in beasts of burden or stalwart servants to forge new and lasting trails.

Spoiler: Faith

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Promised Waters: Occupying bright and welcoming islands of tranquility surrounded by more menacing but necessary deeps, the local tribes of Hamparang Pasang Surut have nurtured an oral tradition promising an ascension one day to a place where both areas flow in harmony. These promised waters, so the stories go, will be tended by the souls of the honored dead, whose benevolence quells all turbulence and whose embrace can be felt in every current and eddy. While the reality of this promised sea is, in modern times, assumed to be allegorical rather than physical, the presence of a number of perfectly circular estuary lagoons on the largest islands in the region provide a continuous source of hope that one day the spiritual idyll might manifest.

[Epinephrine_Syn]

To contribute to the "Exclave" discussion, it seems to me like the big issue with making exclaves attack bastions with a fortress investment is that it would fundamentally change the way the game works on a widespread scale with a tech proliferating. Would it be theoretically possible to include an effect like that, but instead of "A tech that what works from anywhere a Fortress is present", it would be "A 5 action Great Project within a region, that only applies to that region"?